Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2542

The Unraveling Of Mark Levin

The beginning of serious discord on the right - as the tea party tiger they have ridden so cynically begins to bite the GOP in its behind - is not just happening in the primaries. In a recent wave of invective, Mark Levin is talking about his fellow conservatives like a latter day Michael Moore. Here's what he has to say about The Weekly Standard's John McCormick, who had the audacity to report information that reflected badly on a female candidate backed by Palin and the Tea Party:

"Have...

Getting Worse Before It Gets Better

Kevin Drum was rooting for an O'Donnell victory:

The die has been well and truly cast here for some time: the GOP is
irrevocably committed to the undiluted Fox/Limbaugh/Drudge party line,
and there's no going back. They're either going to stand or fall on
that. So I say: let 'em do it. No excuses, no scapegoats. Finish up the Texification of the Republican Party and see how it goes. Only then is there any hope of a return to common sense.

Yglesias differs:

In the short-term, [the Castle...

Yglesias Award Nominee

MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan surprises his guests, by describing actual conservatism. Or rather the Dish variety.

"How Did The Toilet Break?"

A pretty great distraction from the news of the day - a classic Judge Judy episode (yes, one of my guiltier pleasures) slowed down to half-speed. It's about someone who broke a toilet. And they all sound shit-faced. Seriously, it's pretty awesome.

(Hat tip: Buzzfeed)

Judge Judy - Television - Arts - Programs - Reality-Based

Quote For The Day

"I know nothing of this 'list' you're talking about," - Jamie Kirchick, about an alleged list-serv of writers on the Middle East and foreign policy called "Freedom Mail."

The War On Marty

Jack Shafer defends my old boss here. The sharpest point:

Say what you will about him, he has remained committed to ideas and intellectual life.

Two and three quarter cheers to that. When I was editor, I cannot imagine anyone else allowing me to air the kind of debates I did back then, against the teeth of many little orthodoxies, and throwing the dice on young talent like me or Kinsley or now Frank Foer. Time after time, when I went to bat for a magazine that would truly be open to debate...

The O'Donnell Files

Some classic clips from ancient broadcasts of Politically Incorrect featuring the anti-onanist candidate from Delaware. She's to the religious right of Jerry Falwell - and we keep being told the tea-party is just about economics.

Jerry Falwell - Conservatism - Politically Incorrect - Politics - Christian right

Classy Christine

Mark Kleiman dusts off this O'Donnell quote from last week:

You know, these are the kind of cheap, underhanded, un-manly tactics
that we've come to expect from Obama's favorite Republican, Mike
Castle. You know, I released a statement today, saying Mike this is not
a bake-off, get your man-pants on.

Kleiman adds, "But of course O'Donnell had nothing to do with her former campaign consultants spreading rumors about Castle's sexual orientation."

Republican - Michael Castle - Mike...

What Kristol Wrought

Chait's schadenfreude would be almost unbearable if I did not share it myself:

[M:]ost elite Republicans understand that the red meat fed to the base isn't exactly right. It's useful to scare the daylights out of the activists, but writers for the Standard and the Journal editorial page understand that "freedom," as most people understand the term, is not really at risk. They understand as well that politics is a little more complicated than "if Republicans stay true to conservatism, they...

The Spawn Of Palin

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Nate Silver on what the Tea Party's success has done for GOP chances in "the first state":

Delaware is a blue state, and the electoral prospects of Mr. Castle and
Ms. O'Donnell there are wildly divergent. Whereas Mr. Castle is nearly a
95 percent favorite against the Democratic nominee, Chris Coons,
according to last week's FiveThirtyEight forecasting model, Ms. O'Donnell would have just a 17 percent chance of winning a race against Mr. Coons.

On the other hand, she's more likely to...